Course Descriptions

HIS 151: GLOBAL HISTORY TO 1500 (F, S)

3 credits/ Patterns 1

This course examines the development of the first civilizations in Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean, and the Americas, with the aim of exploring their distinctive approaches to human needs and social organization. Students are also introduced to historical methodology, historiography, and different perspectives on how we view the past.

HIS 155: THEMES IN AMERICAN HISTORY: A BIOGRAPHICAL APPROACH (F, S)

3 credits/ Patterns 1

This introductory survey course covers United States history through the lives of representative Americans. Course readings consist of a series of paired biographies of major figures who confronted the pivotal issues and challenges of their times. Course themes include the establishment of the colonies, the emergence of American national identity, the founding and preservation of the republic, the struggle against slavery and racism, the spread of capitalism and industrialization, the rise of foreign affairs, the influence of immigration, the growth of the federal welfare state, and the creation of an inclusive society. Overall, the course addresses the experiences of different races, classes, genders, and ethnicities.

HIS 251 : GLOBAL HISTORY FROM 1500 TO THE PRESENT (F, S)

3 credits/ Patterns 2

This course offers a study of the evolution and interactions of the cultures of Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania from 1500 to the present, designed to give students a greater understanding of the relationships among modern nations so necessary in today’s shrinking globe. Students also have the opportunity to further hone their skills in the areas of the historian’s craft introduced in HIS 151.

HIS 300: US Republic to 1877 (F, S)

3 credits/ Core Concentration

This course examines the creation of the United States, the modern world's first truly successful experiment in republican government (representative democracy). After tracing the 17th-century founding and 18th-century maturation of the British North American colonies, it covers the causes and results of the American Revolution, the political, social, and economic history of the early republic, how the Market Revolution transformed the lives of Americans, and how the Civil War resolved the ambiguous legacies of the American Revolution.